I'm wondering how it has passed Obama's notice that more than half the population nationally favor legalization, and the states which have legalized/regulated it in accordance with schemes that fit local circumstances might not be happy to have the federal government stomp all over them. Just what is Obama good at?

1. A law is not automatically repealed just because an opinion poll shows a majority opposed to it.

2. The states that have legalized marijuana have acted ultra vires, because they have no power to nullify a federal law. Since Congress made marijuana illegal nationwide, only Congress can repeal that law.

3. Obama is very good at thinking he’s smarter than everyone else, even when he’s not. This also makes him very good at ignoring advice. He is also a smooth public speaker. Apart from those things, he really has never exhibited any signs of exceptional ability.

(It’s tempting to say that if he were actually good at something, he would be doing that, and wouldn’t have had the time to run for office. This, alas, is probably true of most politicians. ‘Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach; those who can’t teach, administer; those who can’t administer, run for office.’)